4 ms·

Why do iOS upgrades past one major version always slow down my devices so much though. It's been such a disappointing waste of system resources. Personally thi

Why do iOS upgrades past one major version always slow down my devices so much though. It's been such a disappointing waste of system resources. Personally this is why I tried out Android and have so far stuck with it, (splitting my devices up between two OSes but whatever). So far my Androids get 2 years of bi-monthly security updates and at least 2 major Android releases by manufacturer policy, which is all I've needed, and they don't effectively render my device useless (so far, fingers crossed).

tsywke44 5y ago
Slowing down is mostly caused by battery wear. All my Android devices have had the same problem.
- KennyBlanken 5y ago
  Battery wear, filesystem cruft, and solid state storage slowing down as it fills. People complaining about their phones being slow have aged batteries, a nearly full filesystem, and have likely gone through numerous system updates. On iOS it is trivial to move off files you don't need on the device anymore and then do a backup, full wipe, and restore.
  - themodelplumber 5y ago
    A convenient mansplain, as it does not match up with the fact that the devices in question here were not in the state you described, nor did you inquire. I wonder why we are giving OS upgrades such a free pass here anyway, since they are notorious for this.
  - philliphaydon 5y ago
    My 2nd attempt at android was a Samsung Note 5? Or 4? I forget. Anyway when it arrived it was crazy fast!!! Loved it. After 2 months it was annoyingly slow. Reset it. Fast. Downloaded no apps. Got slower and slower. After 1 year I switched to iPhone for the first time (6) never had an issue ever since. (I did have an iPhone 4 at one stage which made me go MS Phone cos the crashing was so bad)
  - samtheprogram 5y ago
    This too, but Apple was caught a while back slowing down older phones at major version updates (their reasoning was to extend battery life / device on time). https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51413724 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51413724
    - zepto 5y ago
      You sound like you think they were lying.
      - samtheprogram 5y ago
        Personally, I don’t, but I was trying to convey a neutral stance. That said, I didn’t like their approach of secrecy and, at least seemingly and anecdotally, doing it when receiving updates rather than over time based on some metric such as battery cycle count. I find this possibly related to their anti-repair practices.
        zepto 5y ago
        > doing it when receiving updates Updates are how they deliver updated battery management algorithms, not the metric they use to determine battery age.
        KennyBlanken 5y ago
        > seemingly and anecdotally, doing it when receiving updates rather than over time based on some metric such as battery cycle count. You have absolutely no evidence to support this statement. > That said, I didn’t like their approach of secrecy Apple is under no obligation to disclose every practice or behavior, especially one which is completely innocuous and benefits the customer with zero downside. The alternative to slowing down the processor to account for increased internal resistance is "the phone crashes", which is exactly what iPhone 6S models did until Apple released the fix in an iOS 10 update. Several generations of iPhones have been clearly specifically designed to make the battery and screen easy to replace (Apple even uses pull-tab-releaseable adhesives for the battery), and doesn't place the lightning connector on the main board unlike damn near every Android phone; it's an easily replaced module. The "slowdown" was specifically to increase the amount of time before the phone's battery would have to be replaced. Other manufacturers have done the same. How strange that this anti-repair anti-consumer company's OS releases support their phones far longer than any other phone manufacturer...
0x000000001 5y ago
Every major iOS update adds more functionality that consumes more CPU cycles even in the background. Unless something strictly requires new hardware to work, they include the features. Maybe if Apple refused to support new features on old hardware it would solve this issue, but then you just anger users who are forced to buy new hardware to get a new feature...
- themodelplumber 5y ago
  Certainly there's a creative workaround for this theoretical bind in which Apple find themselves? Refuse to support OR enable more functionality to the point of wrecking the user experience seems like a suspicious dichotomy.
- uniqueid 5y ago
  Every major iOS update adds more functionality that consumes more CPU cycles even in the background. The very best OS updates also revise or replace existing code to run better (more reliably, more securely, more quickly, etc). The larger issue, in any case, is that Apple prohibits reverting an iPhone to a prior version of iOS. This inexorably leads users of old devices to one day install that final update that turns their device into a turkey. At that point the customer buys a new phone, a year or two before they intended, and the old phone, which is too slow to be useful as a back-up device or hand-me-down, goes into a landfill.

tsywke44 5y ago

Slowing down is mostly caused by battery wear. All my Android devices have had the same problem.

KennyBlanken 5y ago
Battery wear, filesystem cruft, and solid state storage slowing down as it fills. People complaining about their phones being slow have aged batteries, a nearly full filesystem, and have likely gone through numerous system updates. On iOS it is trivial to move off files you don't need on the device anymore and then do a backup, full wipe, and restore.
- themodelplumber 5y ago
  A convenient mansplain, as it does not match up with the fact that the devices in question here were not in the state you described, nor did you inquire. I wonder why we are giving OS upgrades such a free pass here anyway, since they are notorious for this.
- philliphaydon 5y ago
  My 2nd attempt at android was a Samsung Note 5? Or 4? I forget. Anyway when it arrived it was crazy fast!!! Loved it. After 2 months it was annoyingly slow. Reset it. Fast. Downloaded no apps. Got slower and slower. After 1 year I switched to iPhone for the first time (6) never had an issue ever since. (I did have an iPhone 4 at one stage which made me go MS Phone cos the crashing was so bad)
- samtheprogram 5y ago
  This too, but Apple was caught a while back slowing down older phones at major version updates (their reasoning was to extend battery life / device on time). https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51413724 https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51413724
  - zepto 5y ago
    You sound like you think they were lying.
    - samtheprogram 5y ago
      Personally, I don’t, but I was trying to convey a neutral stance. That said, I didn’t like their approach of secrecy and, at least seemingly and anecdotally, doing it when receiving updates rather than over time based on some metric such as battery cycle count. I find this possibly related to their anti-repair practices.
      - zepto 5y ago
        > doing it when receiving updates Updates are how they deliver updated battery management algorithms, not the metric they use to determine battery age.
      - KennyBlanken 5y ago
        > seemingly and anecdotally, doing it when receiving updates rather than over time based on some metric such as battery cycle count. You have absolutely no evidence to support this statement. > That said, I didn’t like their approach of secrecy Apple is under no obligation to disclose every practice or behavior, especially one which is completely innocuous and benefits the customer with zero downside. The alternative to slowing down the processor to account for increased internal resistance is "the phone crashes", which is exactly what iPhone 6S models did until Apple released the fix in an iOS 10 update. Several generations of iPhones have been clearly specifically designed to make the battery and screen easy to replace (Apple even uses pull-tab-releaseable adhesives for the battery), and doesn't place the lightning connector on the main board unlike damn near every Android phone; it's an easily replaced module. The "slowdown" was specifically to increase the amount of time before the phone's battery would have to be replaced. Other manufacturers have done the same. How strange that this anti-repair anti-consumer company's OS releases support their phones far longer than any other phone manufacturer...

0x000000001 5y ago

Every major iOS update adds more functionality that consumes more CPU cycles even in the background. Unless something strictly requires new hardware to work, they include the features. Maybe if Apple refused to support new features on old hardware it would solve this issue, but then you just anger users who are forced to buy new hardware to get a new feature...

themodelplumber 5y ago
Certainly there's a creative workaround for this theoretical bind in which Apple find themselves? Refuse to support OR enable more functionality to the point of wrecking the user experience seems like a suspicious dichotomy.
uniqueid 5y ago
Every major iOS update adds more functionality that consumes more CPU cycles even in the background. The very best OS updates also revise or replace existing code to run better (more reliably, more securely, more quickly, etc). The larger issue, in any case, is that Apple prohibits reverting an iPhone to a prior version of iOS. This inexorably leads users of old devices to one day install that final update that turns their device into a turkey. At that point the customer buys a new phone, a year or two before they intended, and the old phone, which is too slow to be useful as a back-up device or hand-me-down, goes into a landfill.